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Kate Middleton Spends $55,000 On Wardrobe This Year

She may be a fan of re-wearing her high-fashion frocks, but new reports prove that the Duchess’ stellar style sense definitely adds up. Being a royal has it’s price — and that’s a whopping $55,000!

Kate Middleton may be known as the “Royal re-wearer,” but it looks like the Duchess isn’t as thrifty as we originally claimed. A new report tallied up the cost of Kate’s closet, and it turns out the hefty $55,000 tab is being picked up by her father-in-law, Prince Charles!

While the figure seems shocking, given that the Duchess turns up in designer duds from high-fashion brands like Alexander McQueen and Jenny Packham, it isn’t so surprising. Some of the Duchess’ big purchases include a pleated red Alexander McQueen dress, a long-sleeved nude lace McQueen sheath, which were reportedly around $1,850 a piece. In addition, Kate bought a stunning emerald Jenny Packham gown that she wore at London’s Royal Albert Hall back in May, which came to another whopping $3,200 and an Emilia Wickstead pink coat dress for a lunch date with the Queen earlier this summer for $2,000.

Once Kate wears something it flies off the shelves — but the Duchess is very gracious and refuses to accept any of the free clothing that’s offered to her! While she pays full price when she’s shopping at Topshop or Zara, the same goes for when she’s picking up items from high-fashion brands. We can’t blame Kate for being such an infamous “re-wearer” when she’s spending so much on these gorgeous items! I’d want to get more than one use out of those lavish dresses too!

Prince Charles is due to make his spending records available to the public later this week, for the first time since Kate joined the Royal Family. The new reports on the spending in the Daily Mail claim that Prince William, (who makes $69,000 a year in the Royal Air Force), doesn’t foot the bill for his wife’s shopping trips. Instead, Charles pays for whatever Kate wears when she’s performing her royal duties, thanks to a private estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, that he uses to fund his public work. Just last year, he made $30 million from the fund. His official expenditure budget clocked in at almost $18 million, (and that includes Kate’s clothing for work-related affairs!).

While Charles may be graciously picking up the tab, let’s not forget William did inherit $15.5 million just last week on his 30th birthday.

Are you surprised by how much she spends or do you think it’s totally reasonable for a Duchess?